George’s girlfriend breaks up with him because he has a different religion, so he tries converting. Kramer accidentally inspires a woman to leave her religion for him, causing him to discover he has the Kavorka, and he tries to remedy that. Elaine offends her podiatrist boyfriend because Jerry doesn’t think he’s really a doctor. Jerry discovers fungicide in his girlfriend’s medicine cabinet and tries to figure out what she has.
Written by: Bruce Kirschbaum
Directed by: Tom Cherones
This is another one of those bonsai plots I like so much. With the possible exception of George, each story is so tiny and almost banal that you kind of need all of them at once to have an actual episode, and yet a) they all feel fully developed and b) they interact with each other so much. George’s plot is the meatiest, with him choosing to convert to Latvian Orthodox (a religion the writers thought they made up at the time of writing), although it’s surprisingly light on substance. There’s nothing really bad here, but aside from a few lines (George’s complete conviction when he says “In this age of uncertainty and confusion…” and Frank’s belief the group mutilated squirrels) nothing really pops out.
Compare this to Kramer’s story, where we are gifted with the word ‘Kavorka’, a word invented by the writers for the episode and one which I understand permeated the culture as a Seinfeldism. TV Tropes still uses the phrase to indicate a man who attracts a lot of women despite an unconventional appearance or personality. This is another case of the show’s quasi-meta approach, turning a basic principle of the show into a weird magical force that drives the universe. There’s something amusingly sympathetic about his being genuinely upset that he drives women to ruin their lives for him.
Jerry and Elaine’s stories are so small as to be nearly inconsequential, though I do enjoy that this is the first we really see of Jerry’s germaphobia. Like, going into her medicine cabinet is a shitty thing to do (no matter how he tries to rationalise it – he’s literally correct while defying the principle of the rule) but admittedly I can see being kind of phobic about the fungus and going insane over it. On the other hand, Elaine using Jerry’s line on her podiatrist boyfriend is incredibly funny asshole behaviour to me, especially when she ends up blaming Jerry for it.
TOPICS O’ THE WEEK
- “In any difference of opinion, pants always beats no pants.”
- Bit of deranged Seinfeld lore when we learn George got into podiatry school.
- “She’s limiting herself to Latvian Orthodox?”
- The thing about this being somewhat weak in plot is that it’s filled with casual, familiar Seinfeld details that would be the highlight of a more normal sitcom, like George’s girlfriend breaking up with him but still getting the lobster, or George claiming he never lied his current girlfriend and immediately backtracking.
- “I guess this one is my fault.”
- “I’ve got nothing against the foot! I’m pro-foot!” = me, assuring my foot fetishist friends I still respect their kink after making fun of it.
- When Elaine’s boyfriend asks where the bathroom is, the audience laughs in anticipation.
Biggest Laugh:
Next Week: “The Stall”.